A few months ago I was driving home late one night from a meeting. It was foggy and late. Really foggy and really late (which isn't a great combination). I could only see about 10 feet in front of my car as I drove towards home. Besides being slightly afraid I would hit something with my car, I was struck by the profound metaphor this was for how I feel in life right now. I can see about 10 feet in front of me and that's about it. Whether its with my three children or our hopes and dreams for a new church in downtown Muncie, it all seems a bit like driving through the fog. I don't know where my children will end up, I can't see that far in advance. I don't know all the details of how we will start a new Church in downtown Muncie. I don't know all the details about what it will look like to intentionally pursue being a multicultural Church. I simply don't know. I can't see that far ahead clearly.
I can imagine it. I have an end picture in mind of what it would look like. But I can't see all the details, the twists and the turns of the path between where we are now and that point. In light of that I have three options:
1. I can stop. I can find an easier path. A path that seems more direct. One with less fog. Or simply stop moving forward until the fog passes.
2. I can stress out. I can rack my brain and look at every detail and try and find the hidden meaning and sign of every inch of my journey. I can work and toil to know not only the end but the specific path that God has called me to, forcing the fog to clear out.
3. I can trust the God who is over the fog. I can trust that God knows what he is doing. He is in control. Jesus says to his disciples in Matthew 6:25-33:
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
So, rather than wear myself out trying to find the details I need to see the big picture. Seeking first God's kingdom and his righteousness. What has God clearly revealed in the Bible and how can I align each and every day of my life with those things and rest in his sufficient control of the universe?
Kevin DeYoung says it this way in his helpful book Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will or How to make a decision without dreams, visions, fleeces, impressions, open doors, random bible verses, casting lots, liver shivers, writing in the sky, etc. (I like the extended subtitle!):
“God is not a Magic 8-Ball we shake up and peer into whenever we have a decision to make. He is a good God who gives us brains, shows us the way of obedience, and invites us to take risks for Him. We know God has a plan for our lives. That’s wonderful. The problem is we think He’s going to tell us the wonderful plan before it unfolds. We feel like we can know— and need to know— what God wants every step of the way. But such a preoccupation with finding God’s will, as well-intentioned as the desire may be, is more folly than freedom. The better way is the biblical way: Seek first the kingdom of God, and then trust that He will take care of our needs, even before we know what they are and where we’re going.”
God has revealed enough in the Bible for me to drive another 10 feet. Whether that is in my own personal life decisions, my parenting decisions, or our decision to move forward with starting a new missional and multicultural reformed Church in downtown Muncie. And then you know what, when I get there I can see another 10 feet. So I will continue to move forward one day at a time loving Jesus, declaring the gospel, and trusting God with the results of my life and work.
What's the fog in your life right now? Whatever it is, know that if God can care for the universe, he can care for you. Trust him. Because he is in control even over the thickest of fogs. And because he has demonstrated his faithfulness in the cross of Jesus Christ.